Round wall-mounted hydrant housing for freezeless wall hydrants

ABSTRACT

A round wall-mounted housing for use with freezeless wall hydrants that provides a housing of a round configuration. The round configuration allows for easy installation of the round wall hydrant housing in existing panels or walls. To install, an access hole may be drilled into the desired wall or wall panel without the need for chiseling or chipping. The present invention also provides a cover that can remain in an upright, open position. The cover pivots on a pin connection securing it to the housing. The cover has guides with extended slots that allow the cover to swing to and then lock in an open position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to wall hydrants and, moreparticularly, to wall-mounted enclosure boxes used with wall hydrants.

Conventional wall hydrant housings or boxes are often of a square orrectangular configuration, but some have an arcuate configuration.Whether round or rectangular, the mounting hole in a concrete wall mustbe chiseled to form an opening to fit the hydrant housing. Not only isthis labor and time intensive, but such a process often results in animperfect opening without clean, sharp edges.

In addition, the door or cover to a conventional wall hydrant housingoftentimes will not by itself remain in the upright, open position whenthe hydrant is in use. As such, access to the hydrant inside the housingis frustrated by the tendency of the cover to move to a closed positionunless manually held in an open position.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a wallhydrant housing that can be easily installed into an existing wall.

A further object of this invention is to provide a wall hydrant housingthat can be installed without the need for chiseling or chipping of themounting wall.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a wall hydranthousing with a cover that does not hamper access to the hydrant inside.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards round wall-mounted housingsfor use with freezeless wall hydrants.

The present invention utilizes a cylindrical housing of a roundconfiguration. The round configuration allows for easy installation ofthe round wall hydrant housing in existing panels or walls. To install,an access hole is drilled into the desired wall or wall panel withoutthe need for chiseling or chipping.

The present invention also utilizes a cover that can remain by itself inan open position when the hydrant is operated. The cover pivots on a pinconnection securing it to the housing. The cover has guides withextended slots that allow the cover to swing to and then lock in an openposition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of the present invention with thecover installed;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view thereof, as seen from the right-handside of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view thereof opposite to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view thereof;

FIG. 8 is a frontal perspective view of the present invention with thecover removed;

FIG. 9 is a partial elevational view of the cover attachment shoulderinside the housing;

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view through the housing with the covershown in the open and locked position;

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG. 9 but with the covershown in the open and unlocked position;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11 but with the cover shown in anintermittent position between being open or closed;

FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12 but with the cover shown in theclosed position;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a tilt-up wall assembly adapted for usewith the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a poured concrete wall adapted for usewith the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a concrete wall prior to being drilledfor use with the present invention;

FIG. 17 is the side view of FIG. 16 adapted for use with the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 17 but with the hydrant housingproperly installed in the wall;

FIG. 19 is a front elevational view similar to the invention of FIG. 2as installed in a concrete wall; and

FIG. 20 is a rear elevational view of the housing opposite to FIG. 19 asinstalled in a concrete wall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1-7, the numeral 10 designates a housingassembly 10 including a housing 12, having a flat front surface 14, aside surface 16, a flat top surface 18, and a rear surface 20. The frontsurface 14 is larger in diameter than the rear surface 20, and is theouter surface of flange 22 located around the front of housing interior23 (FIG. 8). As also shown in FIG. 8, housing interior 23 has aninterior side surface 24, an interior top surface 26, and an interiorrear surface 28. Housing 12 also has opposite shoulders 30 each having apin bore 32. Two cover stops 34 protrude from the interior side surface24 of the housing 12 (FIG. 8). A lock bore 36 is located towards thebottom of interior side surface 24 to receive a conventional lock unit(not shown). As shown in FIG. 7, rear surface 20 of housing 12 has arectangular-shaped opening 38. Lugs 40 reside on opposite sides of rearopening 38, and hydrant mounting holes 42 are located above and belowrear opening 38.

Housing 12 is of a cast construction and may be made of any metal oralloy. In the preferred embodiment, housing 12 is made of cast aluminum.All of the features described above are integrated into the casting. Pinbores 32 may be drilled to achieve a specific tolerance, and lock bore36, lugs 40 and mounting holes 42 may be tapped to achieve specificthreads.

With reference to FIGS. 1-7, the housing assembly 10 also includes acover 44. Cover 44 may include a domed portion 46, which helps toaccommodate certain models of hydrants. Alternatively, cover 44 may beflat, without domed portion 46, depending upon the specific hydrantused. Cover 44 has a lock bore 48 positioned to be in alignment withlock bore 36 on housing 12 when the cover 44 is affixed to the housing12. Cover 44 also includes a flat hinge portion 50. As shown in FIGS.10-13, hinge portion 50 has a side surface 52 with a slot 54.

Cover 44 is of a cast construction and may be made of any metal oralloy. To prevent potential galvanic corrosion, cover 44 should be madeof the same material as the housing 12. In the preferred embodiment,cover 44 is made of cast aluminum. All of the features described aboveare integrated into the casting. Slot 54 may be milled to achieve aspecific tolerance.

Cover 44 attaches to housing 12 and is retained by pins 56. As shown inFIG. 9, pins 56 extend through pin bores 32 on housing 12. Pins 56 alsoextend through slot 54 of cover 44 (FIGS. 10-13). In FIG. 10, cover 44is locked in the upright or open position. Specifically, the hingeportion 50 of cover 44 cantilevers about pin 56 and pushes againstinterior top surface 26 of housing 12. To close the cover 44, the cover44 must first be pulled away from housing 12, as shown in FIG. 11.Pulling the cover 44 away from the housing 12 causes the slot 54 ofcover 44 to slide with respect to the pin 56. When the cover 44 is fullyretracted from the housing 12, it will pivot about pin 56, as shown inFIG. 12. Interior top surface 26 is contoured such that the hingeportion 50 of cover 44 can freely pivot without interfering with thehousing 12. Cover 44 can then pivot about pin 56 until reaching theclosed position, as shown in FIG. 13. Cover 44 will press against coverstops 34 inside the housing 12 when the cover 44 is in the closedposition. A locking device (not shown) can then be inserted into lockbore 48 of cover 44 to engage with lock bore 36 of housing 12 to lockcover 44 in the closed position. Locking may be necessary to preventunauthorized access to the hydrant mounted inside the housing assembly10.

Housing assembly 10 can be used with tilt-up concrete wall construction,as shown in FIG. 14. In tilt-up construction, a pre-cast concrete panel58 is inserted into a groove 60 in concrete base 62. A cable 64 issecured to panel 58 and is used to raise panel 58 into position. Afterall panels 58 are raised, a cap (not shown) is secured to the top endsof the raised panels. A hole 66 is drilled into concrete panel 58 toallow for installation of the housing assembly 10. Hole 66 typically isplaced a specific height from the ground. As such, hole 66 can bedrilled prior to the panel being installed or into an existing panelalready installed. Housing assembly 10 may also be used with pouredconcrete walls, as shown in FIG. 15. Poured concrete wall 68 may bedrilled to form hole 70, which accommodates the housing assembly 10.

In either types of construction, the housing assembly 10 can be easilyinstalled with a single drilling operation. As shown in FIGS. 16-18,drill 72 can be used to drill concrete wall 74 to create mounting hole76. Mounting hole 76 is slightly larger in diameter than the diameter ofrear surface 20 of housing 12, but smaller than the diameter of flange22 of housing 12. Because the housing assembly 10 is of a roundconfiguration, the wall 74 only needs to be drilled to accommodate thehousing assembly 10. Unlike the prior art, no chiseling or chipping isrequired as there are no sharp corners to be made. After the hole 76 hasbeen drilled in wall 74 (or the holes 66 in panels 58), the housingassembly 10 is inserted inside hole 76 such that the flange 22 is flushagainst the wall 74, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19. With reference to FIG.20, securing plates 78 may be attached to the rear surface 20 of thehousing 12 such that the housing assembly 10 is securely mounted withinwall 74. Securing plates 78 are of a length substantially larger thanthe diameter of hole 76. Threaded rods 80 screw into the mounting holes42 in the rear surface 20 of housing 12. Securing plates 78 havecentrally located holes 82 that are sized to fit over threaded rods 80.Nuts 84 secure to the ends of threaded rods 80 to tighten the securingplates 78 against wall 74.

Once installed into a wall, a hydrant 86 (FIG. 20) can then be mountedinside the housing assembly 10. Specifically, the hydrant 86 is insertedthrough the front of the housing assembly 10 such that the hydrantmounts against the interior rear surface 28 of the housing 12. Thehydrant 86 is secured to the housing assembly 10 through attachment tolugs 40, which may be tapped to facilitate bolts. The plumbing (notshown) associated with the hydrant 86 extends out the rear side 20 ofthe housing assembly 10 through rear opening 38.

Whereas the invention has been shown and described in connection withthe preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that manymodifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are withinthe intended broad scope of the following claims. From the foregoing, itcan be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of thestated objectives.

What is claimed is:
 1. An enclosure for a wall hydrant comprising: ahousing having a round configuration and having means for containing thewall hydrant; a cover pivotally attached to the housing wherein the saidcover can move from a closed position to an open position; a slot withinthe said cover wherein a portion of the said cover can slide about theslot into the said housing when the said cover is in the open position;and wherein the said cover has a domed portion to accommodate largerhydrants.
 2. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein said housing includes aninterior rear surface adapted to receive the wall hydrant.
 3. Theenclosure of claim 1, wherein a side wall of said housing has a depthapproximately equal to that of a concrete wall.
 4. The enclosure ofclaim 1, further comprising an outwardly extending flange associatedwith an edge of said housing, said flange having an inner surface forengagement onto a wall; and wherein said cover is pivotally associatedwith said flange.
 5. The enclosure of claim 4 further comprising a slotwithin the cover wherein a portion of the cover can slide about the slotinto the housing when the cover is in the open position.